Chester mayor vows not to back down after wife's carjacking ordeal

CHESTER — Having had a gun just pointed at her by a pair of carjackers, Jourdeana Linder told her husband Wednesday night, “No one should ever have to go through that, someone holding your life in their hands.”

Mayor John Linder, 66, wholeheartedly agrees, speaking Thursday both as a husband grateful that his 65-year-old wife was unharmed in the apparent random assault, and a concerned leader of a city drowning in gun violence.

“It’s overwhelming to think about it in this context. It’s just a millisecond ... that’s all it takes and she could have been gone,” Linder said. “We are counting our blessings today. It makes me work harder for our community. A lot of people in the community haven’t been as fortunate as us.

“My feeling is, even if it was targeted or planned, the (anti-violence) vigilance goes on. If it’s by accident or design, it’s still the wrong thing to do to people, whether it’s my wife or anyone’s wife, sister or mother.”

Advertisement

The Linders, who have been married for 35 years but a couple for 40, know the family of Jasper G. Moy, the 24-year-old Upper Darby man charged with robbery, aggravated assault and related offenses in the carjacking, the mayor said.

Moy was preliminarily arraigned Thursday and remanded to the county prison after failing to post $250,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled June 4 before Magisterial District Judge Spencer B. Seaton Jr.

Three men who were detained along with Moy for questioning late Wednesday were released, but remain “persons of interest” in the carjacking, city police Maj. Alan Davis said Thursday.

Investigators are also looking at the four men as potential suspects in several open robbery cases, said city Detective James Nolan IV, who, along with Detective Patrick Mullen, is leading the ongoing carjacking probe, with assistance from the Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division.

According to Nolan, personal items belonging to the mayor discarded from the vehicle were recovered Thursday in the 500 block of Norris Street, about two blocks from where the car was found.

Linder was at his home in the typically quiet 500 block of Reaney Street Wednesday night, watching Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals between the Miami Heat and Brooklyn Nets. He and his wife had been out together earlier in the evening, but she later remembered needing something from a store and she went to buy it.

She had been gone about an hour when at around 9:30 p.m., Linder said, “I heard loud banging on the door and someone yelling, ‘Help. Help. Help.’”

Linder could tell the person was in distress, but he didn’t recognize the voice until he got closer to the door.

When he opened the door, he said, “She was pointing to the car and saying, ‘They’re taking the car.’ She was trying to get it in my head.”

Linder raced outside and got to the middle of the street, which was illuminated by street lights, motion lights from his neighbors’ homes and his own home lighting.

For a few seconds, Linder said an image of a light-skinned black or Hispanic male at the wheel of their gold Ford Taurus was “frozen in place.” The suspect, later identified as Moy, was wearing a hoodie, under which Linder could see facial hair.

“Amazingly, they sped off,” Linder said. “I think it was because she ran and she screamed.”

Linder said his wife had parked the car across the street, but in front of their home, which is typical if his vehicle is parked directly out front.

“She originally saw two men up the street. As she was parking and then retrieving items from the trunk, she thought to herself, “Where did these two guys go?” the mayor said. “She turned around and there they were.”

Linder said his wife saw two males.

“These guys were on foot and looking for wheels. It was a coincidence she came down the street,” Linder said.

With a gun pointed at her, she was told to do three things, “Drop your pocketbook, don’t run and don’t scream,” Linder said. “She did one out of the three. She put the pocketbook down, then she ran and she screamed.

“I was amazed at her survival instinct,” the mayor continued. “She gutted up and she took a dash for life.”

Linder, in hindsight, believes his wife thought that if only she could reach him, she had a chance.

“She was overwhelmed they pulled a gun on her. She wasn’t coming for the mayor, she was coming for her husband,” he said. “She was fortunate. She could have gotten shot ... I’m certainly familiar with street crime and street violence, much more than she is. I know how quickly things can turn in a situation.”

Heeding the advice he’s forever doling out to residents, Linder said, “I immediately called 911 to get the word out.” He also notified Chester Police Commissioner Joseph Bail Jr.

According to Linder, officers were already working in the area when police responded to the report of a robbery of a motor vehicle at about 9:33 p.m.

Patrolman Charles Stevens was first on the scene, according to the affidavit of probable cause for Moy’s arrest, penned by Nolan.

The stolen 2005 Ford Taurus was located at Seventh and Norris streets, by city officers Justin Echiveria and William McKenzie at about 11:40 p.m.

Two black males were outside of the vehicle, while a third who was in the driver’s seat was wearing white pants. When the males saw a patrol car arrive, they fled. Echiveria gave chase of the male who exited the driver’s seat, but lost sight of him in the 1400 block of West Seventh Street, where the suspect ran behind a building.

Backup officers, including Aston Patrolman Mickell Jones and his K-9 partner Jax, began a search. During the search, city Officers Robert Jones and Michael Canfield located a male lying in the back of an apparently abandoned 1999 Cadillac at Lloyd and James streets.

“The suspect was laying back in the passenger side front seat changing clothes,” the affidavit states.

The suspect had his shoes off and the white trousers were at his feet. All clothing has been collected as evidence.

Echiveria identified the suspect, Moy, as the person he chased from the stolen Ford.

Before the car was recovered, Linder said, “I was hoping my wife stayed true to form and the gas tank was low.” Just the thought made him smile.

“I’ve seen so much death since I’ve been mayor. Life is a precious gift. It’s a moment in time and we have to embrace it like that and be thankful.

“We are going to live our life as normally as possible,” Linder continued. “The message is, be conscientious of your surroundings at all times. Don’t take any area for granted.”

Linder described his wife as a very private woman, but a generous one. They want everyone to know they are grateful for the many calls of concern they received.

“We’re blessed she was spared. Whatever is next, we hope that others continue to be spared. But we’ve got to work hard. No one is immune to any type of crime,” he said.

“With all that is going on, we are not going to relent,” he said, noting that law enforcement teams on the streets Thursday arrested two individuals and confiscated four firearms in two separate investigations.

One of the suspects barricaded himself in a residence on Honan Street in the Highland Gardens section of the city, drawing a team of emergency responders and resources, including a military surplus armored personnel carrier that belongs to the Chester Township Police Department Thursday afternoon.

“We are going to continue to turn things up to keep our city safe,” Linder said.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan, last week joined Linder and Bail in unveiling Operation City Surge, a five-tier anti-violence initiative that includes joining city, county, state and federal resources.

“We are going to lead the city surge to eliminate these street predators,” said Whelan Thursday night. “I agree they are indiscriminate and will attack anybody. We need to make Chester safe for all the residents.”

Linder said Thursday that he wasn’t expecting to get the car back. He expects that he will replace the vehicle, which is something he had been planning anyway.

In the meantime, he had some pressing plans with his wife Thursday night.

“I’m taking her out to dinner somewhere special,” he said.

Linder doubts she will be venturing out alone anytime soon. Neither he nor their son in Philadelphia, nor their daughter in Chicago, would approve.

When their 3-year-old grandson, Chase, saw them on television Thursday, Linder said he wanted to know, “What’s mom-mom and pop-pop doing on TV?”